Synopsis:

You Take Yourself With You: Are You Brave Enough To Make Peace With Your Past?

When Christof's father dies in an accident that Christof survives, he's left with more than guilt. A mountain of hidden debt threatens to devastate the Italian cherry farm his family has called home for generations, leaving its workers destitute. Struggling to juggle the demands of a city job that wants him to put a mafia boss behind bars and the overwhelming responsibility of running the farm, Christof has never felt more alone, though he doesn't let anyone close enough to tell. Can he save the farm, beat the mafia and learn one of life's most important lessons, before it's too late?

Sophie is brilliant at her job and on track to get promoted when her best friend and boss goes on maternity leave. When Sophie rejects her new boss's sexual advances, he sets out to destroy more than her career. Living in London with a narcissistic ex-boyfriend stalking her and her landlord making her homeless, can she escape from the black cloud that threatens to overwhelm her, to find the stability, happiness, success - and the love - she is secretly craving?

What happens when you get in the way of your happiness? Exploring self-doubt, trauma, depression, harassment (#metoo) and bullying, Clare's novel is a journey of hope, courage, love and realising we're not alone.

If you love a great story, especially when there's intrigue, twists and conflict in there, but you want more than chick lit saccharine romance and hate being given nightmares, then you'll love You Take Yourself With You.

It is the first in a series of five books about The Denucci Deception.

Outline:

You Take Yourself With You: Are You Brave Enough To Make Peace With Your Past?

November:

Sophie takes the biggest risk of her career - one that will either get her promoted or arrested - and she's terrified she'll be fired when her boss finds out. Will the client insist on her going?

Christof faces his demons and the guilt of surviving the car crash that killed his father, when he returns to his apartment in Milan, running away from the expectations that haunt him at the cherry farm he inherited, without wanting to. 

Back in the job he loves, his boss allocates him the Denucci case - it's high-risk but exciting, aiming to put a Mafia boss behind bars. Could it be just what Christof needs to wake him up after his summer from hell?

December:

Sophie has to act fast to rescue a hundred thousand pounds' worth of client research when a focus group in Paris career-endingly wrong. Then she waves goodbye to her boss and best friend, Lucy, as they celebrate her maternity leave with an eventful afternoon tea at Claridge's. How will she get on with her new boss, as he makes his mark in the office? And why is her narcissistic ex-boyfriend being so friendly?

The past comes back to haunt Christof, as he is thrown together with his former lover, Isabella, during a work trip to Paris. He isn't ready to forgive her yet. And he realises he is suffering from PTSD after the car crash, when what should have been a fun dinner at his boss's house turns into a living nightmare.

Christmas:

After she is assaulted at the office Christmas party, Sophie fears for her sanity, as well as her job.

And Christof receives an ultimatum that will change his life forever, whatever he decides.

January:

Sophie's new boss is on a mission to get her fired and undermines her in front of a client she used to love. And worse - her new boss is an old friend of the owner of the agency she works for, so will anyone believe her story?

Christof is on a hot trail with the Denucci case, but he needs to gather evidence. Will the risks pay off?

February:

A team-building day from hell turns into sweet revenge as Sophie gets one over on her boss. But will it last? And how long can she keep distracting herself from the sh*t going on in her life with partying every night?

Christof is struggling with the weight of his responsibilities back at the cherry farm and he has never felt so alone. A breakthrough comes one lonely night when he realises how he has been self-sabotaging his happiness, without realising.

March:

Sophie's boss cranks up the bullying until she feels she's about to snap. Then terrible news from her landlord leaves her feeling broken and alone. Can she avoid the feelings of depression that threaten to overwhelm her?

Christof is shocked to find a hidden debt his father didn't tell him about, which threatens to destroy the cherry farm. Can he trace the source and persuade the bank to hold off from repossessing, while he looks for a miracle solution?

April:

Determined to make a formal complaint against her boss, Sophie is out-manoeuvred. As she fails yet another job interview, will she be able to cling on to hope?

A stupid mistake that Christof will always regret puts the Denucci case in jeopardy - and Christof's life at risk. How will he break the news to his boss?

May:

Soon to be homeless and with her self-confidence in tatters, Sophie has hit rock bottom. She doesn't know how to turn her life around. Can a dinner with her eccentric Godmother make any difference?

The truth comes out about Christof's Dad's loan - and brings with it the slimmest glimmer of hope of saving the farm. But will it be enough?

June:

Sophie finds the courage to take drastic action. Treating herself to a much-needed holiday in Italy, she is excited about going to her first ever cherry festival. Does she realise her life will never be the same again?

A heartfelt confession gives Christof back his hope and he hatches a risky plan to save the farm and his career. But will it be enough? He won't know until he gets to the cherry festival. And will he notice when what he has been dreaming of is standing right in front of him?

Audience:

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You love a great story, especially when there's intrigue, twists and conflict in there, but you want more than the saccahrine romance that can fall under 'chick lit' and you hate being given nightmares. There's a pile of books on your bedside table and you wish you could read them all at once.

You're happiest when a book has an ending that fills you with hope, hungry to read the next one, even if the journey within the pages gets you diving in deeply on topics we try to avoid, questioning your assumptions about how you see the world.

When you've really enjoyed a book, you're the kind of person who tells their friends and gives them a copy for Christmas.

About Clare Josa:

Author | Speaker | Mentor To Passionate World-Changers

Clare Josa is the author of five life-changing non-fiction books and You Take Yourself With You is her first novel.

She spent 30 years dreaming of writing a novel, but a throwaway comment from an English teacher, back in her teens, meant she convinced herself she couldn’t think of a good story. And she was right. Then, one morning, she did some inner block-clearing work - the kind she does with her clients - and 2 days later a series of 7 novels had been drafted. Three months later, two of them were written, of which You Take Yourself With You is the first.

The scariest bit was asking her husband to read it and give her feedback, before it went to her editor. She knew she had cracked it the night he put that day’s draft down and demanded to know when he could read what came next.

In You Take Yourself With You Clare wanted to explore what happens when life gets tough and how we subconsciously get in the way of our own happiness and fulfilment, which is how Sophie’s and Christof’s journeys were born. Unafraid to tackle challenging topics like PTSD, guilt, obligation, self-doubt, abuse and depression, You Take Yourself With You is a journey of growth and hope and realising that you’re not alone in life - deep-acting insights into the human condition, served up with a generous dollop of humour.

In her previous incarnations, Clare Josa has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering and German, she has been an NLP Trainer (‘user manual’ for your brain) since 2003, she is a certified Meditation & Yoga Teacher (and has published two books on mindfulness - 52 Mindful Moments & the 28 Day Meditation Challenge). She teaches internationally on the little-talked-about yet vitally important ‘inside work’ for when you want to make a bigger difference in the world. Her book Dare To Dream Bigger gives you the step-by-step how-to for this.

Her secret addictions are great coffee with cashew milk, growing unusual vegetables and listening to Harry Potter in German on her phone.

When not writing or running workshops on the ‘how to’ for ‘be the change you wish to see', Clare loves hanging out with her husband and their young family, their bouncy Jack Russell, their self-assured black cat and ten mindful chickens at her home in Sussex, UK. Her hammock under the willow tree on a sunny afternoon, listening to her boys playing, is her favourite place in the world.